Do you own this Ikea dresser? Why be sure it's 'fixed to the wall'

Ikea came out with a statement in March urging parents to fix their furniture to walls. (Supplied)

By

Joseph George

PublishedWednesday, June 29, 2016

Ikea may soon announce its decision to withdraw furniture that, according to reports, could have killed at least three children in the United States.

The item, the Malm dresser, is sold in most Ikea stores around the world and unless fixed to the wall could topple down due to excessive weight.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said at least 29 million units sold worldwide could be affected by the recall and that the Ikea websites in the US had already withdrawn all Malm models.

Ikea in the UAE was yet to get back with a comment about the possible recall.

A customer care staffer told Emirates 24|7 that they had not received any security alerts for any of the Malm products and most of them including the six door chest continued to remain on sale.

"We have about fifteen units remaining in our stock," the staff said.

Ikea USA president Lars Petersson has also urged all customers who own the affected dressers should remove them from rooms that have access to children.

According to reports the last incident of a child being killed by a Malm dresser happened in February, when Theodore "Ted" McGee – a 22-month old child from Minnesota – was killed.

Two other similar incidents were reported earlier.

Ikea came out with a statement in March urging parents to fix their furniture to walls but also promising to conduct a detailed enquiry.

Ikea said the furniture was not properly fixed to the wall in each of the cases in which a child died and has issued another safety warning to parents.

"We wish to emphasise that the best way to prevent tip-over of chests of drawers is to attach products to the wall with the included restraints and hardware per the assembly instructions," it said adding that the restraints are included in the package.

Safety gates that opens

Separately, Ikea has also announced that it is recalling a safety gate that is meant to prevent children from accessing the stairs leading to accidents in some cases.

In a statement released on Monday, Ikea said the Patrull safety gates have opened unexpectedly and children have fallen down stairs. Some of the incidents have required medical attention.

"A third party investigation has shown that the locking mechanism is not reliable, posing a risk for small children, despite approved tests to applicable standards," it said and urged customers to immediately stop using it and take it back to any Ikea store for a refund.